Spring is a time when plants come back from Winter slumber but with their return comes pollen and for many of us that also means allergies and hay fever which results in nasal congestion, and watery eyes. Using antihistamines brings little to know relief and their use can be accompanied by a foggy brain feeling which is not desirable. So what are seasonal allergies and how can they be stopped?
First, what is an allergic reaction? It is a result of your body’s immune system reacting to what it feels is a foreign and unwanted substance. The immune cells more commonly referred to as white blood cells, are found in areas of your body where there is exposure to foreign substances like the nose and lungs. They encounter the foreign substance such as pollen and this triggers a release of inflammatory cytokines and interleukins which start the protective inflammatory response of the body which can include a runny nose, sneezing and watery eyes. This response is the way the body attempts to get rid of an unwanted substance. Why does this happen? Well, at first you may think that you have just been born with some sort of bad luck that will result in having allergies for your whole life, but let us look deeper at the cause. One area where the body comes into contact with a large amount of foreign substances is the digestive tract. It also turns out that the digestive tract contains close to 50% of the immune system of the body in it in the form of Peyer’s patches. So in medical research it has been shown that in order to get allergies or hay fever one must first have an allergic reaction in the gut which will activate the immune system in the gut. The gut immune system then communicates with the rest of the immune system of the body by making it highly reactive to any additional exposure to foreign substances such as pollen or dust so it stands to reason that the way to stop allergic reactions would be to quiet down or modulate the immune system in the gut first. To do that one should eat a clean diet that would include vegetables, rice, cooked grains, fruits and a lot of water for a week or two. Stay away from wheat gluten, fried foods, sodas, simple carbohydrates such as chips and candy during this time. Wheat gluten has been shown in research to be a potent aggravator of the immune system. It is also advisable to get a good nights rest during this time. To quiet down or modulate the immune system the best supplements would be an alpha glucan which is the fastest acting immune modulator and also consider vitamin D which also has an immune modulating effect on the white blood cells. These simple actions can result in quick allergy relief and keep your immune system strong but not capable of overreacting making your hay fever more like spring fever.
